family intervention in recent onset schizophrenia treatment (first)

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Summary: the primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the overall effect of caregivers receiving a study-provided caregiver psycho-education and skills training program on the number of treatment failures (psychiatric hospitalization, psychiatric emergency room (er) visit, crisis center visit, mobile crisis unit intervention, arrest/incarceration, and suicide or suicide attempt) in patients under their care during a 12 month period.

this is a randomized, open-label, parallel group study of patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder and their caregivers. study will consist of a paired patient and caregiver. patients will receive routine treatment, which may include oral antipsychotics or paliperidone palmitate, as directed by their treating physician. caregivers for patients whose routine treatment is paliperidone palmitate will be randomized to receive either a study-provided caregiver psycho-education and skills training or usual caregiver support. caregivers for patients whose routine treatment is oral antipsychotics will be randomized to the same study groups: study group 1: study-provided caregiver psycho-education and skills training. study group 2: usual caregiver support (caregiver support that is customarily provided by the study site, if any). patients-caregiver pairs will be followed for up to 12 months following baseline assessment. cumulative number of treatment failures over 12 months will be assessed primarily.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: a) caregivers * each caregiver must sign an informed consent form (icf) indicating that he or she understands the purpose of and procedures required for the study and are willing to participate for the duration of the study * caregiver is able to have verbal interaction with the patient with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder at least twice a week, per self-report b) patients * patients must have a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder made by a clinician with understanding of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm v) criteria for these disorders * patients must be receiving ongoing psychiatric treatment at the study site and must be receiving oral antipsychotics or paliperidone palmitate long acting therapy exclusion criteria: * a) caregivers * caregiver is mentally or physically incapable of adequately performing the required study procedures, as determined by the treatment team * caregiver has received structured or manualized psycho-education or skills training within 1 year prior to screening b) patients * patient is hospitalized (medical or psychiatric), incarcerated, or otherwise institutionalized at time of randomization * patient is considered to have significant potential for imminent harm to self and/or others as based on the judgment of the treatment team * patient is receiving assertive community treatment (act) or other high intensity case management services to prevent hospitalization

Keywords: schizophrenia caregiver psycho-education and skills training paliperidone palmitate oral antipsychotic